factitious disorder

noun

variants or less commonly factitious disease

plural factitious disorders also factitious diseases

: a psychological disorder that is characterized by the intentional feigning, exaggeration, or induction of the symptoms of a disease or injury in oneself or another and that is accompanied by the seeking of excessive medical care from various doctors and medical facilities typically resulting in multiple diagnostic tests, treatments, procedures, and hospitalizations

Unlike the malingerer, who consciously induces symptoms to obtain something of value, the patient with a factitious disorder consciously produces symptoms for unconscious reasons, without identifiable gain.

—Paul R. Linde

Note: Individuals with factitious disorder may use different methods to induce, simulate, or fake the symptoms of disease or injury including ingesting various substances (such as vitamins, minerals, or drugs) to produce symptoms, physically injuring themselves, feigning physical disease symptoms, contaminating diagnostic specimens, or tampering with medical records. Factitious disorder typically involves self-imposed actions and the disorder may also be referred to as factitious disorder imposed on self or especially formerly as Munchausen syndrome. Less frequently, a person's actions are directed towards inducing symptoms in another individual (usually the person's child). In these cases, the disorder is typically referred to as factitious disorder imposed on another or especially formerly as Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Examples of factitious disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now known as factitious disorder imposed on another, Munchausen by proxy led Dee Dee to falsely claim her healthy little girl had leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and other conditions, keeping her wheelchair-bound and using a feeding tube during her childhood. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2024

Spanning eight episodes, The Act recounts the events leading up to the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette), in 2015, a case intertwined with allegations of abuse and factitious disorder. —EW.com, 27 May 2024

According to the Mayo Clinic, a factitious disorder is a mental disorder when someone purposely makes themselves or someone else sick. —Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024

However, at its core, imposing factitious disorder is a criminal act. —Vlad Velicu, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024

The woman is not unusual among factitious disorder cases, the doctors note. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 28 Apr. 2023

What Is Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy? Munchausen by proxy is essentially Munchausen syndrome or factitious disorder imposed on another. —Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023

Munchausen syndrome, also known as factitious disorder, is a chronic mental health disorder where individuals pretend to be sick by lying or exaggerating their symptoms. —Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

factitious disorder

noun

variants also factitious disease

: a psychological disorder that is characterized by the intentional feigning, exaggeration, or induction of the symptoms of a disease or injury in oneself or another and that is accompanied by the seeking of excessive medical care from various doctors and medical facilities typically resulting in multiple diagnostic tests, treatments, procedures, and hospitalizations

Factitious disorder can present in multiple health care settings, with patients intentionally producing symptoms to assume the sick role.

—Mohammad Jefferany et al., The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders

But patients with factitious disorders are not malingerers—who fake illness for material benefits, such as narcotics or insurance disability payments. Nor are they hypochondriacs, who labor under the false impression that they're sick but are not.

—Melanie Hirsch, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)

Note: Individuals with factitious disorder may use different methods to induce, simulate, or fake the symptoms of disease or injury including ingesting various substances (such as vitamins, minerals, or drugs) to produce symptoms, physically injuring themselves, feigning physical disease symptoms, contaminating diagnostic specimens, or tampering with medical records. Factitious disorder typically involves self-imposed actions and the disorder may also be referred to as factitious disorder imposed on self or especially formerly as Munchausen syndrome. Less frequently, a person's actions are directed towards inducing symptoms in another individual (usually the person's child). In these cases, the disorder is typically referred to as factitious disorder imposed on another or especially formerly as Munchausen syndrome by proxy.